Love is Blind
by Jezebel Parks
Summary: Series AU - Aurora lost her sight in an accident, and must rely on a young Vash to protect her from the evil threat of Knives. Together, they struggle to free themselves from fear and find happiness. Rated for Language and Suggestive Themes.
1. The Little Lives

**August 24, 2011 - **As much as I hate to say it, it's clear to me that this fic will never be updated. I wrote this _eight years ago_. I was still a budding writer with Mary Sues abound, and unfortunately I now realize that Aurora is more likely than not a Mary Sue. I did have this story pretty much planned out, but I don't want it associated with my work now. I've moved on and grown so much since 2003, and I'm worried that she's beyond repair, and thus there is no use in continuing. I'm sorry if anyone actually likes this, but that's how it is. If there's interest, or I feel like it, I may restart, but for now, _Love Is Blind_ is on an indefinite hiatus. Feel free to check out my other fics in the meantime. Thanks for everything.

**Disclaimer: Trigun belongs to Yasuhiro Nightow and formerly, Geneon.  
**

* * *

**Love Is Blind - Chapter One: The Little Lives**

* * *

"And they all lived happily ever after. The End."

"Thanks for the story, Rem. I really enjoyed it."

Rem smiled at her little listener. "You're welcome, Aurora. I suppose the story gets better every time you read it."

The girl nodded. "Yeah." She looked remorseful. "I'm sorry to make you read it to me so much. I just want to memorize it all since I can't ... you know ..."

Rem chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Aurora. I'm glad to read the story to you. Now, it's about time you get some rest."

Aurora smiled and reached over in an attempt to turn off the lamp that sat near her bed. She pawed around for the switch. Not finding it, she frowned and returned to her sitting-up position in her bed.

"Rem...would you mind...?"

"No problem," Rem replied, still smiling. She reached over, clicked the switch, and helped Aurora lie down. "Good night, Aurora. Sweet dreams." With another smile, she left the room.

Outside, Stephen was coming back from the bar aboard the SEEDS mother ship. He swayed groggily as he headed toward his quarters to turn in for the night. Just as he approached his room, he saw Rem emerge from Aurora's room and lock the door so no one would disturb the sleeping child.

"Putting the white-eyed tyke to sleep?"

Rem turned around to see him stumbling toward her. Knowing Aurora would be able to hear them, she tried to remain calm despite her fellow crew member's drunken insults, hoping to guide him away from the door.

"You mean Aurora?" she asked, pretending to be clueless. "Yes. She was very tired after her bed time story"

Steve shook his drunken head and smirked. "I really don't see why you bother to take care of her. She's just an extra mouth to feed, and she bothers the rest of us 'cause she needs someone to hold her little retarded hand so she won't bump her retarded head." He let out a low chuckle.

"Steve, Aurora ISN'T retarded! She's really smart for a five year old!" Rem cried, still trying not to lose control. "And it would be inhumane to just let her die helplessly."

"Whatever," Steve said, waving her away. He trudged into his quarters and let the door shut.

Rem looked at Aurora's door, then sighed and made her way to the bridge.

* * *

The next morning, Aurora found herself sitting in bed for hours after waking up, waiting for Rem to come and help her get dressed, and then take her to the dining hall for breakfast. Finally, Rem rushed in, apologies streaming.

"I'm really, so sorry Aurora," Rem said, helping the little girl out of bed. "It's just that . . . last night, the rest of the crew and I . . . we found these . . . these two babies near a power bulb. The crew wanted to kill them, but I was able to convince them to let me keep them. I was so glad!"

She removed the small girl's nightgown and began to dress her. Aurora smiled.

"You have a nice, big, warm heart, Rem."

"Lift your arms up,"

Aurora obeyed and Rem slipped a little dark green dress over her head. Aurora's wavy golden hair frizzled everywhere and Rem started to brush it. She blushed while doing so.

"I haven't done anything that is all that spectacular,"

Aurora's smile widened. "You're humble, too,"

"Anyhow," Rem continued. "I'll have to ... introduce you to them." She stumbled, looking for a word that didn't mean Aurora would actually see the babies.

"I wish I could see them," Aurora said sadly, her head drooping a little.

"I think someday you will," Rem said with a happy, optimistic smile.

Aurora picked her head up and turned it towards the direction of her care taker's voice. "You really think so?"

"Yes!" Rem clasped her hands together and put them close to her heart. "Once we get to our new planet, there will be all kinds of doctors, nurses, and medical researchers that will be able to restore your sight. I have faith that you WILL see again someday."

"I hope so ...," Aurora whispered.

After dressing, Aurora and Rem ate by themselves in the dining hall. All the other crew members were either piloting the ship or making repairs to it. Later, Rem took Aurora to see the two babies.

As the two entered the room in which the babies were living, Aurora could hear their cries that came form the pen that they slept in. She felt like rushing in the direction of the crying to try and ease their pain, but she was able to restrain herself, remembering she was blind.

Rem allowed Aurora to stick her finger out for each of the infants to grab. She marveled at the feeling of their small fingers and touched them with her free hand.

"They're so small," she whispered. She smiled a small smile.

Rem leaned over and smiled back. "Would you like to hold them?"

Aurora let out a small gasp. "Really? But . . . what if I do something wrong because I can't see?"

"Don't worry," Rem replied. "I'll be right here to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yay!" Aurora cried, giving a little hop, causing her hair to bounce and flutter down.

Rem sat the little girl down in a chair near the pen and brought over the first child.

"This one's name is Knives." She placed the infant in the girl's lap.

Aurora did the only thing she could that she thought would entertain a baby. She waved her fingers in front of Knives' face. The child reacted mildly, showing little or no interest in the "toys" that were before him. Rem quickly replaced Knives with his brother, and Aurora tried her finger play again.

"Oh, Aurora, do you hear that? He's giggling," Rem informed her. "It seems that he likes you. Try making some sounds."

Aurora obeyed and she soon could hear the baby giggling up a storm. "What's his name?" she asked.

"Oh yes, I forgot. His name is Vash."

"Vash . . ." Aurora repeated. "I hope I get to see you someday."


	2. Let's Play a Game

Well, what do you know? People have actually reviewed, and they like it. So you know what that means... I PRESS ON!!

Chapter rating: PG... I guess... it's only language.

* * *

**Love is Blind - Chapter Two - About a year later...**

* * *

"Aurora . . .Aurora . . .wake up!"

Aurora sat up in her bed, or at least tried to. She and Vash collided, bonking heads, and each fell backwards. Vash quickly scrambled up the bed again.

"I'm sorry, Aurora!" he cried. "It's just that ... it's a little hard to tell when you're going to get up since your eyes are always closed, even when you're awake!"

"It's alright, Vash," Aurora replied calmly.

This was what she had been waking up to for about a month now. Vash and Knives surprised everyone when they grew to the size of twelve year-olds in the short year after they came to the SEED mothership. Aurora found it hard to believe that the small baby that she had held only a year before was now twice her size and came in every morning to wake her up. She regretted that the two had grown up so fast. Because she was still blind, she had missed it all.

"Are you going to get up or not?" Vash said with a cheery, patient smile. He bent over Aurora a little, and his waist-length blond hair glided over her cheek.

She giggled. "Your hair's tickling me!"

"Oh, sorry." He blushed a little and got off the bed.

Aurora got dressed by herself, something brought on by months of experience and training, and Vash guided her to the dining hall. Aurora was fully capable of navigating herself to the dining hall (she had memorized which way to go), but it was still comforting for someone to accompany her along the way.

As they neared the dining hall, Aurora could smell the breakfast foods in the distance. Their aromas guided her even more than her friend's hand. Finally, they arrived.

After the door slid open, there were some giggles from the crew. Vash looked at them quizzically.

"What?" he asked.

A woman sitting at the far end of the table laughed and pointed at the children's joined hands.

"Is there something we should know about, Vash?"

the boy blushed and ripped his hand away from Aurora's. She allowed her head to droop slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice. She walked over to the table and sat on the other side of Knives. Vash sat between Rem and Knives, and the meal commenced.

* * *

Afterwards, Rem took all three children into the recreation room.

Aurora loved being in there. It was one place where all her other senses could go to work. Flowers allowed her to appreciate her useable senses in the sense that she could feel them, smell them, and she tried to eat one once a while ago because she was starving.

Today, Rem decided to teach the boys how to play chess. Aurora felt a little cast aside, but decided to at least sit and listen anyway. She sat on her knees in the grass and listened intently as Rem explained how each piece moved and how to use these moves to their advantage.

"To win this game, it is mandatory to have a strategy," she said. "Never make a meaningless move. Make each move have a purpose, and there's almost no way you can lose."

Then she allowed Vash and Knives to play each other in a game. Knives won. Rem placed her hands together in a small clap and stood up.

"Well then, I think it's about time we pack-"

"Wait!"

Aurora couldn't hold in her desire any longer. She stood up and Rem turned to her.

"What is it Aurora?"

"I...I want to try to play," Aurora replied, sheepishly playing with her fingers.

She must've sounded crazy, asking to play a game that relied heavily on seeing. Despite this, Rem smiled at her. She turned to Knives.

"You don't mind playing another game against Aurora, do you, Knives?" she asked.

"Not at all," Knives replied cheerfully.

Vash looked at his brother. Knives had an evil glint in his eye; not that of a fierce competitor eager for a new challenge, but that of a cat when he is about to pounce on an innocent, unsuspecting mouse. Vash looked back at Aurora, whose face was lit up like a Christmas tree. He felt sorry for her. She was so excited. His brother was too, but, unlike her, he was out for blood.

Aurora sat in Vash's place in front of the white pieces, so Knives had the black pieces. Knives moved one of his pawns forward two spaces as quietly as inhumanly possible.

"Hey!" Aurora cried. "White goes first!"

"I am white, though," Knives lied.

"No you're not," Aurora said fiercely. "Vash said he was white and I'M taking over for him, so now I'M white."

"Aurora's right, Knives," Rem chided. "Don't worry, you'll have your turn."

Knives glared at the little girl. He moved his pawn back without further question.

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm dumb."

After this, Aurora said no more. She moved her pawns and Knives moved his.

When Aurora got to her second line of figures, it became complicated because she had to take most of the pieces in her hand and feel them out to try to remind herself what piece it was. Both took each other's pawns and other pieces until Knives only had his knight, a deacon, and his king. Aurora had a pawn, a deacon, her rook, and her king. Suddenly, the game was over.

Before Knives could counter, Aurora said "Checkmate."

He stared at the board. It was all over for him. She had trapped his king in the far left corner. Her rook was about to get him, and so was a pawn that was diagonal one square from him. If he moved down, her deacon would come diagonally from across the board and take him.

"Good game Knives," Aurora said cheerfully as she held out her hand for him to shake.

Knives glared back at her with an intense, fierce anger matching that of a swarm of hornets. Vash glanced at him again, confused, as did Rem.

"Knives?"

Knives' features softened as he looked at Aurora. She still sat patiently in the grass. Her smile was still there and her hand still outstretched. He finally shook it gracefully.

"Yeah, good game."

* * *

Aurora guided herself back to her room after the chess match. As she neared where her bedroom door was, she crossed the hall, where she bumped into Steve. She could tell it was him just by bumping into his arm, which was more muscular that everyone else's.

When they collided, Stephen became furious. He threw her against the wall. "You should look where you're going, you blind little bitch."

Aurora tried to get up and get into her room, but Steve went after her again. He grabbed her by the shoulders tightly so she had no chance of escaping.

"I'll bet you can actually see under those dumb eyelids of yours," he said. She could smell alcohol in his breath. "You just want us all to baby you. C'mon, open your damn eyes!"

Aurora struggled, but in vain. "I prefer not to. It scares some people to see my eyes."

"Fuck it!" he yelled at her. "I'm a man! I can handle whatever shit you dish out to me!"

She reluctantly opened her eyes. They weren't the usual white, but almost a silver color. Steve let go of her and took a step back.

"You're one of those monsters too, aren't you?" he said, laughing nervously.

"Maybe I am! Now why don't you just leave me alone, you drunk?!" she screamed at him.

Stephen took a step forward, punched the six year-old on the cheek, then left.

* * *

That night, at dinner, everyone except Stephen wondered what had happened to Aurora. A big bruise was on her left cheek. It looked as though she had been beaten or something.

"So, what happened?" Joey asked her.

Aurora wanted to tell him everything. About how Stephen never left her, Vash, or Knives alone. Ever. But as she opened her mouth, a cold feeling ran inside of her and down her spine as she swore she could feel Stephen glaring at her with eyes of malice. She dipped her head.

"I bumped into something."


	3. Mouse Trap

**Notes: This chapter contains little parts of episode #17-Rem Saverem. I hope the lines are recognizable enough that I don't need to do anything special to point them out. I do not claim to have written these lines. They are the product of the original script writer, Yousuke Kuroda.**

**A dumb waiter is like a tiny elevator that was used in old hotels and old fancy houses to bring food and other things to higher floors.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun. Geneon and Yosuhiro Nightow do.**

* * *

**Love is Blind - Chapter 3**

* * *

Aurora's bruise disappeared about a week and a half after the "Stephen Incident" as she called it in her mind. This was also a time of great excitement and joy on the mothership - for those who could see what it was all about, that is.

Numerous party crackers went off as the picture on the outside vision screen appeared inside the cockpit. Everyone cheered and patted each other's backs.

"That's our new planet!" Rem cried. "We'll land and make it a beautiful place to live."

Knives glanced over at Vash as he grabbed four crackers, three for himself and one for Aurora. He handed it to her and sat up again.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready!" Aurora replied, nodding.

"GO!"

They both pulled the strings attached to the bottom of the crackers, and confetti and tiny colored streamers flew everywhere. Aurora giggled. Knives turned to her with a disgusted look on his face.

"You can't even see the confetti and streamers, so why are you giggling?" he asked.

She just smiled. "I like the sound it makes when it pops!"

He sat back, still disgusted.

Everyone was excited to be landing soon, but especially Aurora. She couldn't wait until they had built their new world. Surely, there was someone who would be able to repair her eyes. If not, it was likely, at least in her mind, that somewhere down the road, medicine would advance enough to find a cure for her blindness.

"How did you lose your eyesight in the first place?" Vash asked one day while the two friends were alone in the rec room.

"Well," Aurora started, "a little more than a year and a half ago . . ."

* * *

_An alarm sounded on the SEED mothership. Joey turned his chair to see a button flashing below a label reading "SUSPENDED ANIMATION ROOM". He hurriedly pressed it, and a camera from inside the SA1 room clicked on._

_An SA machine containing a small girl was short-circuiting. It could no longer suspend her and if something was not done soon, she would die from the ice-cold temperatures inside the room._

_Rem rushed in with Stephen following her._

_"What's the problem, Joey?" _

_Joey turned to look at her for a brief moment, then back to the screen._

_"The SA unit suspending that girl has short-circuited and she will die if we don't act fast." _

_"Then let's go get her out!" Rem cried, already halfway out the door.  
_

_The three of them rushed to the machine in temperature-resistant suits so they wouldn't die themselves. After opening the machine, which resembled a test tube, the girl almost instantly awoke._

_"Don't open your eyes!" Rem cried. "There's a gas in here that will damage your eyesight!"_

_But it was too late. The girl had already opened her eyes out of habit, and the gas took effect. Her vision blurred, then faded until all she could see was black. She screamed and collapsed._

_"Get her out of here!" Joey yelled. "Take her to the infirmary!"_

_Stephen who was, for once, sober, grabbed the girl and ran to the infirmary. There, the girl cried while Rem held her close._

_"I'm blind!" she screamed. "I'll never be able to see anyone ever again!"_

_"There, there. Don't worry," Rem said, trying to soothe her. "I'll take care of you. What's your name?"_

_"A-Aurora..."_

* * *

"I've learned to live with it," Aurora said. "But I still hope I'll get a special surgery on our new planet that will repair my eyes." Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I...I really want to see you, Vash."

Vash smiled. "You'll be able to see everyone, Aurora!"

"Yes ... but I want to see you the most,"

"Huh?"

She giggled. "Never mind."

Rem arrived along with Knives to cut the boys' hair. While Vash was having his hair cut, Knives and Aurora sat in the shade of a nearby tree. She busied herself reading a Braille book while he just kept staring at her with a deep hatred in his eyes. The mouse didn't notice the cat's evil stare, so she kept on reading. Knives suddenly got up noisily and started walking out of the room.

"Knives? Where are you going?"

Knives refused to reply. She called after him again.

"Knives!"

He still wouldn't reply.

After Rem finished cutting Vash's hair, she turned to call Knives.

"Okay, now let's switch. Kni--" when she opened her eyes from her gentle smile, Knives was nowhere to be seen. "Now where did he go?"

"He left a while ago," Aurora said quietly.

"Did he say where he was going?"

"No. When I called out to him, he wouldn't answer."

"That's strange. I wonder if something's wrong."

"I'll go find him!" Vash volunteered, jumping down from the barber chair. He ran out of the room.

* * *

It turns out that Knives preferred to cut his own hair. That night, in the dining hall, everyone commented on the boys' new haircuts.

"You look like a philosopher, Knives," Mary said.

"What do I look like?" Vash asked eagerly.

"A 'Mama's Boy'," everyone else said, laughing.

A glass slammed down on the table over near the bar. Everyone at the dining table turned to see Steve getting up from the bar bench, obviously drunk.

"I don't understand how you guys can stand to eat with those monsters," he said, motioning to Vash and Knives.

"I think you've had one too many, Steve," Mary said looking a bit disgusted.

"Oh no I haven't, baby," Steve said, putting his arms around her neck. She pushed him off of her.

"Knock it off!"

Knives smirked. "A grown man acting like THAT in front of children? You ought to be ashamed."

Stephen glared at him for a moment, then started laughing maniacally and practically danced out of the room. Everyone except Aurora stared after him until he could no longer be seen nor heard.

As everyone started to leave, Knives stayed behind to wait for Aurora, who was always the last to leave. She accidentally bumped into him on her way out.

"Oh, sorry, Knives," she said cheerfully. "I thought I was the only one here."

"Hm," Knives groaned, annoyed. Then he perked up his voice. "Joey wanted me to escort you to the briefing room. He wants to speak with you."

Her face showed that of deep thought. "I wonder why..." She shrugged it off. "Oh well. Thanks a bunch, Knives. I appreciate it!" She smiled at him.

"No problem." He took her hand. Aurora blushed a little. "Now let's get there before they think we got ... lost."

They walked out of the dining hall and down numerous halls Aurora had not yet memorized. She became tense and nervous.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Of course. Don't you trust me?"

"...Yes."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

They walked in silence for the rest of the way. Finally, Knives stopped.

"Here we are."

Aurora felt around for a doorknob. Upon not finding one, she asked, "Where's the door?"

Knives smiled menacingly. He opened a dumb waiter shaft.

"Right here."

The cat grabbed the mouse and shoved it into the trap awaiting her. She fell into the dumb waiter completely. Knives shut the shaft door and ran away.

Inside, Aurora screamed as she frantically tried to find the lever to open the door. She finally figured out where it was, then unlocked the door and opened it. When she got out, she felt the walls, trying to find some familiarity in them. They were new to her, and she couldn't figure out where to go, nor could she remember which way she had come. She was lost.

"Knives!" she called out, hoping for assistance. "Joey! Rem!"

She started sobbing now.

"...Vash..."


	4. Nightmares Both Fake and Real

Hey all! Are you guys glad to see that I am not dead? School almost killed me, but I was able to evade it. Here's your latest installment of Love is Blind!

**Disclaimer: Trigun belongs to Yasuhiro Nightow.  
**

* * *

**Love is Blind – Chapter Four**

* * *

Rem cheerfully hummed to herself as she walked down the hall to Aurora's room. She had already tucked Vash and Knives in, and now it was Aurora's turn. It didn't worry Rem that she had not seen or heard from the little six year-old since dinner, as she had always been a quiet child. Arriving at the door to Aurora's room, Rem completed the song she was humming and went in.

"Aurora, time for bed!" she called. But there was no reply. There was no one in the room. "Aurora?"

She ran frantically around the room, searching every place she could think of. Not finding her, she ran out of the room and down the hall calling the girl's name. She almost bumped into Joey as she turned a corner. Joey saw Rem's anguished face and knew something was wrong.

"Rem, what's going on? What's wrong?"

"It's Aurora," Rem replied. "I can't find her anywhere and I'm afraid that she's lost and can't find her way back."

"I see. I hope she is alright. Come, I'll help you look for her."

* * *

Meanwhile, Aurora continued to try to find her way back to a place of familiarity. Try as she might, she started to get used to the fact that she would never get out of the hall, and that it would be her tomb.

The little girl made her way back to the dumb waiter and sat on the ground beside its entrance, which she used as a landmark. Feeling helpless, hopeless, and frightened, she curled up into a ball and cried. She cried about how the crew seemed to despise her and treat her like some animal in a zoo rather than a real person. She cried about missing Rem and Vash and even Knives, despite the fact that he had put her in this situation. Most of all, she cried about missing her normal life on Earth.

She remembered her family; her mother, father, two older twin brothers, older sister, and her dog, Lacey. She longed for her mother's touch and her father's words of encouragement. Her mother's young face flashed in her mind as she tried to remember her voice that sang her lullabies each night and read her stories in the sun.

Aurora thought of the time she was learning to tie her little black shoes, which she wore everyday. No matter how many times she tried, no matter how many times her brothers and sister showed her how to do it, she only ended up with knots in the laces. She'd complain to her mother, who would smile and say "Just keep trying. You'll get it, I'm sure you will."

Suddenly, Aurora stopped crying.

Her mother's words...

They drove deep into her until they were all she could think about. She knew why she had given up. Her blindness left her few options on how to help the situation, but had she thought about all the facts yet? Aurora went through all of what had transpired in her head. Then it came to her- stairs. Knives had lead her down two flights of stairs to get down here. She must be in the basement, supposedly near an engine room (the mechanical purr of machines gave it away).

"I have to find the stairs," she declared, getting up.

She traced the wall with her hand until she found a Braille sign that said "STAIRS". Overjoyed, Aurora found the doorknob and turned it. Her joy left once more.

Knives had locked the door.

She had been so close. If only there was an elevator. They are not as easy to lock. There was no elevator, but the WAS a dumb waiter.

Aurora ran back to the dumb waiter and climbed in. She didn't know how to exactly work one, but when she found an iron cord, she figured that was how to make it ascend and descend. She grasped it and pulled it with all her might.

A small, sharp pain came to her hands. The cable was old and rusted, and sharp broken pieces stabbed her palms. She winced as blood trickled down her hands and down the cable.

_I have to keep going_. _My life depends on it._

So she pulled again and again, feeling the wall for a door each time. When she felt the first door, her hope and excitement grew. She pulled faster and harder until she felt the second door. She swung it open and pulled herself out. Although she still didn't know where she was, she knew that SOMEONE else would hear her and help her if she yelled loud enough.

"Rem! Joey! Mary!" Aurora started calling. _They'll find me. I'm sure they will._

* * *

"This way!" Rem cried, turning left and running down the hall.

"What is it? Did you hear something?" Joey asked, following her.

"I thought I heard Aurora yelling...as if to get our attention," Rem replied. "Keep going!"

As they kept running, the cries got louder. But they realized that the hallway up ahead split to the left and right. The two split up, each heading in the opposite direction from the other.

Rem kept calling out Aurora's name as she ran down the darkened hallway. She pulled out a small rectangular flashlight and turned it on. It provided just enough light for her to see where she was going. She continued calling out for the little girl. Finally, her calls were returned.

"Rem!"

"Yes!" Rem whispered excitedly to herself. "Yes, Aurora!" she called back to her.

As she came closer, she could hear footsteps. They were loud and staggering. Finally, Aurora came into the light trying to run and keep her hand against the wall at the same time. Rem called her name one last time, and Aurora stumbled into her arms, and began trembling and sobbing into her chest. Rem held her close, afraid that she would escape again somehow.

"I was so worried about you!" she cried. "I don't know what I would have done without you. If I lost you ...oh Aurora...please promise me that you won't run off like that again."

Aurora didn't bother to tell her that it had been Knives who had lead her down to the basement engine level, and left her there to die. It just wasn't her. She wouldn't rat him out. Maybe they could just talk it out. While she had been deep in thought, Rem had bandaged up her hands and put her into bed. She kissed her forehead forehead and shut off the light as she left the room.

As with many times when the human mind dreams of the last thoughts they have before they fall asleep, Aurora dreamed of her conflict with Knives.

* * *

_Aurora was running down dark hallways, and she could see out of her eyes. Knives chased her, and she surprisingly had an image of what he looked like. Her figure said that she was much older, evidenced by her height and curves. Her left hand held a small pistol as she panted for air. Suddenly, Knives held up a large gun and screamed, "DIE YOU HUMAN BITCH!" and a gunshot was heard._

* * *

Aurora sprang awake, hoping for comfort, but finding none in her blind solitude. So, in the intense darkness, her mind flooded with thoughts about her nightmare. How had she known Knives's appearance? Why were they both so much older looking? In the end, no answers came, and all she could do was go back to sleep.

Even in the morning, the darkness was still there.

* * *

Tensions in the ship grew with each passing day. At one point, Vash and Knives got into a fight over killing a spider to save a butterfly that had been caught in its web.

"Kill the spiders to save the butterflies," Knives had said casually.

_But..._ Aurora thought to herself, _in doing so,_ _is it true that you unknowingly become a spider yourself?_

Finally, everything clashed and exploded one night. After dinner, Aurora was reading a Braille book when she heard a scream. She slowly got up and opened her door just as Rem ran by. She could tell it was her by the way she ran and the way her footsteps sounded as her feet hit the floor.

"Rem, what's going on? Who screamed?"

"It came from Mary's room," Rem said quickly. Her face was full of stress, thought Aurora could not see it. "I must hurry. Aurora, stay in your room until I come get you." And with that, she continued running.

Aurora closed the door and slumped against the wall. She was confused, but she could tell from her caretaker's voice that something was amiss. Mary's scream confirmed that. When that sinking feeling came to her, she always became fearful. It was never wrong.

When Rem returned, she told Aurora that Stephen had been mean to Mary, and he had been put into suspended animation- frozen. "What did he do to her?" asked the girl. Her voice seemed to be the essence of innocence.

Rem looked hurt or sad for a moment, then found the words she thought were best. How do you explain rape to a six-year-old?

"He made Mary do something she did not want to do. Something that is supposed to symbolize love."

Aurora tried desperately to understand, but decided to, for now, give up. She tried to be cheerful and change the subject. She put on her best smile. "Hey, Rem, let's go for a walk!" she cried.

Rem smiled also. "Alright, let's go," she replied.

So they went out into the hall and began their trek. As they were walking, they met up with Vash and Knives who joined them. They smiled and talked and laughed. Aurora was pleased as she held Vash's hand. She wanted happiness, no more bad things.

Then that feeling came again. That sinking feeling. Her heart felt hollow, like it had been shot through. It was almost hard to breathe.

Then the gunshot was heard.


	5. Like a Swan

**DISCLAIMER: Trigun belongs to Yasuhiro Nightow, not Jezebel Parks.  
**

* * *

**Love Is Blind – Chapter 5**

* * *

Everyone stopped. Not again. They didn't want this happiness shattered; not after the horrid event that they had only just gotten through. After what seemed like forever, Rem took out her communicator and contacted Joey. She spoke with him for a brief moment, then hung up and turned to the children.

"Joey wants me to check it out. Follow me." She started to run. "He said it was this way," she called behind her shoulder as she led them. Knives and Vash followed her, with Aurora still clutching her friend's hand.

As they ran, the gunshots became louder and almost seemed to shake the ship. Rem skidded at the entrance of a room and pressed the button to open it. Her face flashed into a depiction of intense horror. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open in a small gape as she saw the sounds of the gunshots.

Mary was laying lifelessly on the ground as the red target beam almost seemed to stab through her. Rowan held the gun in his hands, pulling the trigger to the beat of a hymn of death. He noticed Rem in the doorway, and grinned at his handiwork.

"She said she loved me," he said, his voice lined with a psychotic tone. "It's unbelievable! Isn't it unbelievable?!"

By this time, Vash, Knives, and Aurora had arrived on the scene. Vash stared in disbelief at the corpse on the floor, at her killer, then back again. His eyes finally rested on Rem.

Aurora couldn't see the homicide, but she just knew in her heart what had happened. "Is Mary dead?" she whispered to Vash. Her low tone made the question seem fruitless. He quietly replied that yes, she was gone. Aurora felt as though the whole ship was falling apart.

Suddenly, Rowan turned around, red dot of the target beam shining on Knives's forehead

"I know...this is all HIS fault! It's HIS fault that Mary's dead!" he said. "The little monster!"

Aurora clasped Vash's hand tightly, hoping that if she did, nothing would harm them. Rem jumped in front of Knives. The red dot now indicated the location of her heart.

"Stop this! No!" she cried. "Don't harm him!" Upon seeing the killer's surprised face, she continued. A peaceful smile appeared on her lips. "No one has the right to take the life of another."

Her words made Rowan uncomfortable. He tensed, then his hands began to shake. The dot danced around on Rem's chest. Rem advanced. "Stay back!" he yelled, stepping backwards.

"No one has the right to take the life of another," Rem repeated. She moved slowly toward him and reached for his hand holding the gun. "If we all understand and respect one another, then our future will be so much brighter. Please... just give me the gun."

Aurora held her breath, as did Vash. Their interlocking hands tightened their grasp. Just as Rem seemed to touch Rowan's hands, the hatch opened. The three children tried to stabilize themselves to avoid being sucked out into the void. They watched helplessly as Rowan and Mary's bodies floated into the endless death of space. Then the hatch closed.

Rem fell to her knees in angst and began weeping. As Vash went to her and tried comfort her, Aurora felt Knives run off down the hall. She tried to ignore the bad thoughts as she felt her way to Rem and hugged her. Rem was speaking to Joey via video communicator.

"Joey...why did you do that?" Her voice was a barely audible whisper.

"He would have shot you. I had to,"

"He wouldn't have shot me. I was in control,"

"Please try to understand, Rem, I –-"

Rem shut the communicator off. "Rowan...Mary..." she whispered, staring at the ceiling.

Aurora held her mentor's hand. It shook with such emotional uneasiness. Her strength was diminishing. She was becoming more vulnerable. They sat in silence until an alarm sounded.

"What's happening?" Vash cried. Knives suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Rowan must have meddled with the controls. The ships are going to crash onto the planet! We have to escape!"

Rem stood up. "What about Joey?"

"He said to get to the escape pods. Don't worry about him, there isn't any time!" Knives said.

Vash looked to Rem for guidance. "What should we do, Rem?"

Rem looked fiercely at the ground. "Let's get to the pods."

* * *

They put on space suits and hurried down numerous corridors to the landing where the pods were located. Rem opened one, and Knives, Vash, and Aurora climbed in. The children waited for their mentor join them, but she stared, deep in thought. She finally pressed the switch to close the door—with her still standing on the platform.

Vash panicked. "Rem, what are you doing? Rem!"

"I can't leave Joey here by himself, and I want to try to save the sleeping people on the ships," she replied, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Rem, no! Please stay! Don't go!" Vash cried, his own eyes beginning to burn.

"I think that if He were alive, He would have done the same." She kept her hand on the hatch to keep it from opening. "Vash, take care of Knives." Then it closed.

"Rem! REM!!" Vash screamed as he pounded on the door with tight fists.

He was knocked backward as the pod took off into space. He watched the monitor showing the ship that Rem had remained on. It traveled smoothly, then suddenly exploded, like a swan killed by a single shot while coasting on a lake.

Vash snapped. "NOOOO!! REM!! REM!! REM!! REM!! REM!!"

Knives snickered and laughed in the back of the ship. "Humans are so stupid, I will never understand them," he said, pushing back the front of his hair while he cackled. "They insist on wasting their time with useless sentimentality, even if it costs them their lives. I was going to let her live since you seemed so attached to her, but it seems that she was imperfect."

His brother stared at him, shocked and horrified. "You! You did this?!" Knives just laughed more. "Yaaargh!"

Vash charged at him. Knives effortlessly kicked him backwards. He slammed into Aurora, who bashed into a control board. The buttons, joysticks, and levers dug deep into her skin and she howled in pain.

"Rem..." Vash kept whispering.

Aurora crawled over to him and they held each other and cried together as they thought of Rem, giving her life for others. As the ship entered into the planet's atmosphere, the pod rocked. The two suddenly slammed against the floor. The pod landed and they both were thrown from it. Knives remained inside due to his seat belt fastening him in.

He got out, finding Vash and Aurora passed out on the ground. He kicked the girl awake.

"Wake up, human scum!" he screamed at her, kicking her in the ribs again and again. Aurora flinched each time, and scrambled as fast as she could to get up, holding her side.

Knives then walked over to Vash and calmly woke him up. "Vash, hey Vash. Wake up!" His calm greeting was not reciprocated. Vash shoved him away. Knives took a step forward.

"Hey, it's just us out here, we should at least try to act like brothers," he said.

Vash slammed his fist into the ground. "Murderer!" he yelled. "You killed them! Rem! The Crew! You killed them all!"

Knives's eyes went wild and he grinned. "Yessss..." he hissed. "It's spectacular, isn't it? They all die!" He gazed at the sky where the ships were coming towards earth like falling stars. "Except for the fraction that will be saved thanks to Rem's meddling."

Vash gritted his teeth and lunged at his brother. Knives knocked him to the ground again. Vash mumbled something and Knives began kicking him in a fit of rage.

Aurora could hear the sound of the beating and Vash's cries. "Knives! Stop! Please!" she screamed.

When he ignored her, Aurora grabbed his wrist and bit into it as hard as she possibly could. Her dry mouth was hydrated by blood. Knives thrust her away and howled. He finally got a hold of himself.

"You. Little. Bitch."

Aurora froze. She heard footsteps and then felt his breath in her face. She tried to run, but her foot hit a rock and she fell backward into the stone wall of the canyon that they were in. Knives's hand grasped her throat, and she struggled like a mouse in a trap. Vash grabbed his brother and finally pulled him off. They all breathed heavily, trying to catch their breath.

"Well then, we should find some place to rest," Knives said calmly, as though nothing had just happened.

His toned scared her, sending chills up her spine. She hated it when he sounded sweet when he knew he had just done something horrible and terribly evil. Reluctantly, she got up, and Vash grabbed her hand as they began walking. They settled under a cliff after a long night's walk. The two of them curled up to keep each other warm.

Aurora was glad they weren't at the top.


	6. Traveling With a Murderer

**Disclaimer: Trigun was created by Yasuhiro Nightow. All characters and trademarks (with the exception of Aurora) belong to him.**

* * *

**Love is Blind – Chapter Six**

* * *

The next morning, Vash gently shook Aurora. "Are you up?" he whispered.

She opened her eyes to reveal their silver contents, just to let him know that she was awake. Vash smiled minimally. Knives had gone for a walk, so they were by themselves for the moment. She sat up.

"I'm so hungry," she moaned clutching her stomach.

Vash reached into a sack and handed her a hardtack cracker. She gingerly took it from him with a quiet, "Thank you." She nibbled on it, wanting to both preserve it and ravenously cure her arching stomach. It was almost tasteless, leaving much to be desired from it. When she was done, she turned to Vash.

"I think we should go on by ourselves," she said quietly. "We have to get away while we still can! Before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?" Knives's voice came from behind her.

Aurora gasped and turned around, as if she could see him behind her. She clenched a fist at her side and gritted her teeth.

_If I could see_, she thought, _I'd take you down, and make you pay for killing them! You'll pay someday, just you wait!_

"I really do hope that you weren't trying to convince my dear brother to run away with you," Knives continued, walking around them as he spoke. "She wasn't trying to brainwash you, right, Vash?"

Vash dumbly shook his head. Knives's voice suddenly entered his mind, speaking to him without moving his lips.

"Liar," he said, his voice getting nastier by the second. "Know this: if you _do_ run away with her - EVER - I will find you and make BOTH of you suffer. I will make sure that NEITHER of you find happiness."

His words made Vash shake while his brother calmly drank from a canteen.

This was how the three lived on their planet - coping with Knives's revolving door of moods in an effort to survive. They wandered the desert-like terrain for weeks. Aurora's sweater was both a savior and a plague. It covered her arm, shoulders, and back so she didn't get a sunburn, but it also made her almost unbearably hot. Still, she found the strength to not complain or grumble out of frustration. She knew it would do her no good, and would just arouse Knives's temper.

Vash held Aurora's hand the whole way, even when their hands got sweaty. He never let go unless it was absolutely necessary. Rem had not commanded him to take care of the little girl as she had with Knives, but he still knew that she need more than he or his brother. Without him, Aurora would be lost in the darkness and vulnerable to any evil that was out there.

_Like Knives's…_ he thought. Then he caught himself.

Had he thought that about his brother? He couldn't have. He loved his brother. Sure, he acted weird and mad sometimes, but he wasn't _evil_, was he? The word flashed in his mind with every step he took.

* * *

Months passed, and soon Aurora felt her hand become smaller in Vash's. Both boys were growing up at an alarming rate. While she still had the body of a six year-old, Vash and Knives looked about twice her age or more.

Knives continued to threaten his two 'companions'. They were smacked, kicked, yelled at, and had their hair pulled, among other things when they showed the slightest hesitation or opposition to anything he had to say. The little girl had to sleep, metaphorically, with one eye open every night, afraid that she would be killed if she were to let her guard down even as she rested. Not being able to see anyhow, she had to concentrate and rely on her other, keener senses to stay alert.

But because of this, Aurora received very little sleep. So in the morning, as the party walked, Vash had to almost drag her along, making them lag and not cover as much distance. Vash did not mind waiting. He wanted to keep his friend well, knowing that besides Knives, she was all he had. As he aged and became stronger, he offered his small counterpart piggy-back rides when she could barely stand on her own two legs anymore.

One day, the three of them arrived on a cliff in the early afternoon. From it, the two boys could see a SEEDs ship that had landed there. People who wore what seemed to be potato sacks were waiting in line for a drink at a water pipe. They each filled up small bowls and went to sit with their families. The line moved very slowly. One man was so thirsty that he could wait no longer. He ran, pushed, and shoved his way to the front of the line and drank directly from the pipe. The people surrounding him were outraged by his selfish act and a riot started. Knives glared down at them.

"Stupid, pitiful humans," he scoffed. "They are just mounds of the flesh full of greed. They do not deserve to be here!" He squinted his eyes into little balls of evil and a bulb near the crowd turned on. The light blinded them and they cowered.

Vash grabbed his brother's shoulder. "What did you do?" he cried.

Knives brushed him off and walked away, smiling evilly. Vash stared after him. What had he just seen? Did Knives actually turn that bulb on? All he did was squint at it. Vash knew that they were different from normal people like Aurora, but just HOW different?

Something else crossed his mind; what if there were changes in him that he would not be able to control? Aurora loved him like a sibling, but would she shun him like the crew members had? Would she try to leave him?

A squeeze from Aurora's hand to his brought him back to reality.

"Vash, are you alright?" the little girl asked. "Your hand is shaking."

Vash turned to her and saw her worried face. Although her eyes were closed, he could tell that if he could see them, they would be glossy with worried tears. More than anything at that moment, he wanted to see what her eyes looked like normally, without the silvery casing of blindness. What color would they be?

"Vash? Is everything okay?" she asked again. Vash let go of her hand and put his on her shoulder, gently using it to push her against him. Being only six, Aurora didn't understand. Why did her best friend just do this to her? Why was he now holding her like this? "Vash?"

Vash glanced at the sky, then at his friend. The breeze played with her long, wavy locks. She looked almost peaceful.

Aurora suddenly felt a swift push from behind her. It launched her forward toward the edge of the cliff. Vash turned to see Knives next to him instead of Aurora; innocence replaced with evil. Knives's eyes were wild with psychotic enjoyment.

She tried to get up, but Knives grabbed her and forced her onto her back so her head hung off the edge of the cliff. She screamed as tears streamed down her face from her shut eyes. Knives cackled.

"Maybe I should just toss you down there, leave you with your own kind," he said. Aurora shook her head as she continued to scream. "Yes…yes…SCREAM YOU PITIFUL HUMAN SCREAM!"

Vash, for this amount of time, had stood frozen watching them. He stared at Knives moving his hands up to choke her. The more he stared, the angrier he got. Suddenly, in a burst of anger, he gave Knives a swift back-fist to the face. Knives grabbed his face in pain, giving Vash enough time to pick Aurora up from the ground. The little girl thrust her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

His brother stood, wiping blood from his nose. He glared at Vash, and then stomped off. Vash trailed behind him, still holding Aurora.

That night, Vash awoke to small hands feeling his back and ribs. He opened his eyes and turned over to see Aurora's silhouette in the moonlight. She knelt before him, her hand still on his side.

"What is it?" he whispered sleepily.

Aurora opened her mouth, then hesitated. A moment later, she attempted to speak again. "I…had a bad dream," she said.

Vash looked into her eyes, which were open, and saw how frightened she was. Without hesitation, he raised his arm, and Aurora crawled under it at his command. She nestled against his chest as he wrapped the arm around her. Her hair tickled his cheek, and he smiled before falling asleep.

* * *

Aurora awoke when she felt a draft where Vash's warm arm should have been. She sat up and listened. The wind whistled a lonely tune, some birds flapped their wings in the distance. Finally, she heard Vash's gentle footsteps approach her.

"Good morning," he said in a sunny voice. Aurora stood up and smiled at him.

Ten years had passed since they had arrived on this planet. Aurora had grown into a lovely sixteen year-old. She still wore a navy blue sweater with an orange skirt that was just above her knees with black tights. Her blond hair was now just below her hips, and, as with any young woman, her body had begun to develop curves as she entered her teens, albeit subtle. Despite the fact that she was still blind, she was even more confident that she would see again.

Vash and Knives had grown up so much themselves that they looked like they were in their mid to late twenties. Both towered over Aurora, but she could not see it for obvious reasons. She could only sense that her hand was like a small delicate petal in his large ones as they walked, and at night, his arm wrapped around her more easily as they slept.

Knives's malicious tendencies were still visible, more now than ever before. He still glared at his brother when he would save the girl. Each night, his voice would enter Vash's head and threaten him about if he and Aurora ever ran off on him, telling him what he would do to them. He also told him that he would kill Aurora while he was sleeping. That was why Vash, ever since that night that Aurora had awoken him because of her bad dream, had Aurora sleep close to him with his arm around her so that if she moved just a little bit, he would know. However, he knew that all it took was a quick gunshot to take the girl's life; something that he would be unable to stop before it was too late.

The other reason was that over those ten years, as his mind matured, he took a distinct liking to her. He had always liked her as a friend, but now it almost felt like something more. He knew showing it would just anger his brother and make him want to kill her more, so he had kept it in as much as he could.

"Good Morning," Aurora said sweetly with a tilted head and smiling face.

Aurora, for her part, didn't worry herself with how she felt about Vash. She had always thought of him as a brother to her, but didn't know anything about love or passion as she was never able to talk about it with a guardian at the appropriate age. She knew that she got a warm, fuzzy feeling when he held her hand or put it on her shoulder or held her at night. Her face would feel hot and her heart would feat faster. The sensations confused her, but she didn't know whether or not she could talk about them with him at all.

A stomp caught both their attentions.

Vash looked (Aurora turned her head to hear where the sound was coming from) and saw Knives standing with an annoyed look on his face.

"Come on," he said in a gruff voice and walked off. Vash took Aurora's hand and followed him.

As they walked, Vash stole glances at her, which she had no way of noticing. He finally just looked at her, with no worries of her knowing. He was almost amazed at how much she had changed over the years. She had gotten much taller, and her face had changed as well. It was quieter, more reserved. Even though she was much more mature than when the bond between them had been forged, she was still able to somehow keep that certain innocence and cuteness about her that she had when she was six.

Suddenly, he was on the ground.

"Vash!" Aurora gasped, brought to her knees by his weight. "Are you alright, Vash?" She was still holding his hand.

Before Vash could say anything, Aurora fruitlessly attempted to pull him up by his arm. He chuckled.

"I'm alright," he said, getting up. "What did I trip on, anyway?" He looked down at his feet to see a piece of scrap metal. "Huh?"

He looked forward to see Knives approaching a SEEDs ship that had crashed. They hurried to him. "What are we doing here?" Vash asked.

"I left something here a long time ago, so I came back to get it," Knives replied slyly. "I may be a while, so just wait here." With that, he headed in and down a hallway.

"Knives!" Vash called out to his brother.

Knives just vanished into the darkness of the hall.

Vash was going to go in after him, but was stopped by a squeeze to his hand. He looked to Aurora, who was full of fear. They sat inside the ship- huddled together.


	7. Love and Suicide

**Disclaimer: -swings her Fullmetal Alchemist watch in front of you in a hypnotic way- I DON'T own Trigun… I DON'T own Trigun… when I snap my fingers, you will continue reading knowing that I DO NOT own Trigun! –snaps-**

**Chapter rating: PG-13 for angst and brief sexual content**

* * *

**Love is Blind – Chapter Seven**

* * *

Approximately twelve months passed since Knives went to go find whatever it was that he had left behind in the ship. Vash and Aurora had stayed at the ship's entrance waiting for him. They spoke or slept most of the time. Aurora soon lost of track of whether it was day or night, and had to ask Vash whenever she was curious.

"Vash, is it day or night?" she asked one time.

"It's night," he replied, exhausted.

Usually, the conversation would end there, but this time, she continued.

"What kind of moon is it?"

"Well…I…uh…hm…" Vash stuttered, surprised. He leaned over to look out the door to the night sky. "A full one," he said as he resumed his position inside. He closed his eyes to rest. Aurora's body shifted beside him and he woke up again. "What are you doing?"

Aurora swung her legs around so they hung off the edge of the opening. "I want to go outside."

"Why?"

She turned to him, eyes open, a large smile on her face.

"To dance!"

"Wait, what? Hey!"

Aurora had already kicked her shoes off and was running in the sand. She leaped and twirled a few times, eyes still open, as if she could see. Since she couldn't tell which way the ship was, she just called out.

"Vash! Come on! This is fun!"

"I don't know…"

Hearing his voice, she turned and ran in his direction.

"I can't dance."

Aurora arrived and felt for his hands. Upon grabbing them, she smiled and said, "Silly Vash! How do you know unless you try?"

She pulled him out of the ship and into the sand. Letting go of him, she raced ahead and pranced in the moonlight. Vash just smiled.

Aurora twirled and put her palms towards the sky. As if coaxed by them, more stars appeared out of hiding and lit up the sky. She continued to skip, kicking the sand gently. She jumped, planning to land on one foot, but slipped and fell backwards.

"Aurora!" Vash called and ran towards her.

Aurora got up and ran at him. She leapt into his arms, and he, almost by reflex, spun her around as she spread her arms out like wings. They laughed and he decided to put her down.

As she was lowering her legs, one got caught in his arms and she almost fell over, but he grabbed her and stopped her. Then they both realized what it was that he had grabbed- her butt.

They froze. Aurora lowered her head as her face turned a crimson shade. Vash's did also, but he lifted his head instead. Everything was still and silent. All that could be heard was her breathing, which was heavy, though he couldn't tell if it was because she was nervous, or frightened.

Something in him slipped, and his hand squeezed the flesh that was in them. Aurora whimpered and clutched his clothing. Something pushed against her thigh, but not knowing what it was exactly, she paid it no mind. She was thinking about the weird sensation that was pulsing through her veins.

"Vash…" she gasped. She clung close to him.

His hand tilted her head up and he looked into her eyes, then lowered his head more to get closer to her.

"Vash…"

Just as their lips were about to touch, the foot that she had been balancing herself on slipped and they both fell. Vash landed on his back with her on top of him, straddling his stomach. He could feel her heartbeat on his chest. It had quickened to an almost alarming rate. He sighed at another pleasant feeling. Her soft breasts were against him, and it was almost too much for him to bear.

They lay there in silence until a hungry stomach sounded its alarm. Aurora burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "First I make us fall, and now my stomach is asking to be fed! I'm sorry!"

Vash chuckled in response. "It's alright. I'll make us something."

He built a fire and warmed up some soup for the both of them. They sat opposite from each other, both embarrassed by what had taken place moments before. Aurora tried to hide herself from him by shrinking down and huddling into a ball. He looked over the fire at her, sighed, then just tried not to look at her.

What had he been thinking? Touching her like that…how foolish he was. Though he didn't gloat about it, he knew that he and Knives were smarter than her. She probably had no idea what was going on. Had she been scared? He cursed at himself for doing that to her. He couldn't allow himself to develop those types of feelings for her. If Knives found out, which, knowing him, he would somehow, she would be put in great danger - more than she was in now.

"_If we stay with him, we'll die! We have to get away while we still can- before it's too late!"_

Aurora's young voice had stayed in his mind all this time. He remembered how he had stood there, scared stiff, while his brother had threatened Aurora, himself, and their happiness. Knives had threatened her safety and her happiness, and he had done nothing to help her.

_I don't deserve to have feelings for her after all this running away_, he thought.

Every time Knives had verbally abused her, and almost every time he had physically abused her, Vash had stood by and done nothing. Because of that, Aurora's spirit had been broken. Her spunk was gone. She was more delicate and fragile now than she had been back when she was six. Vash had already failed to save her spirit; he could not fail to save the rest of her.

He stared at her across the fire. She had closed her eyes again, as if she was closing herself up. With her dinner finished, she was just sitting calmly, as if waiting for something. She mumbled.

"What?"

"I said, 'When I was little'," she repeated in a tired voice, "before we all boarded the SEEDs ship to find a new place to live, I had a family. There were six of us. I was the youngest. I had two older brothers who were twins, Niel and Alric. They were twelve years older than me. I also had an older sister, Masha, who was ten years older than me.

"My mother was so beautiful and kind. People would say that I looked like her. She was always so happy. My brothers told me it was because Daddy loved her so much. Anyone could tell how she was feeling because she would sing whenever she was really happy.

"Once, when she was singing in the garden by our house, I tried to dance along to her song. She saw me, and signed me up for ballet lessons the very next day. I'll never forget the way she looked at my recital…"

She paused. A choke came from her throat, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Tears were in her eyes," she continued when she had found her voice. "Alric later told me that mother had once been a ballerina, but she had an accident with her leg, so she couldn't continue. At the time, I had thought that I had made her sad by making her remember something that she could no longer do. But now…I see why she was crying. She was…happy. Happy that I loved something that she loved. She was proud of me. Now, whenever I dance, I think of her."

Vash smiled. But Aurora broke down.

"I miss her so much…" she said in a hoarse voice. "I miss my whole family!"

Vash went to put his arms around her, but when she felt him, she pushed him off, standing.

"NO! I don't want any more pity or comfort! Those things don't change anything! I'm blind, and I'll probably never see again! My family most likely died when the ship blew up ten years ago! I'll never see any of them again! So now I'm just stuck here with two MEN! One of which wants to kill me!"

"Aurora…" Vash whispered.

"I just hate this! I hate my life, and I just want to DIE!" She moved towards the fire. "I'll just end this now…then I can be with my family…" She let herself fall forward.

"AURORA NO!" Vash yelled as he grabbed her and pushed her to the ground, away from the fire. "Why would you even think about doing that…Why would you…How **could** you?" He stood over her.

She had landed on her stomach, and now she used her arms to support herself so her chest was the only thing besides her face not touching the ground. "Why did you stop me? I wanted to die."

"You're such an IDIOT!"

She flinched at this. Never before had she heard Vash raise his voice to such an angry level before. He grabbed her shoulders.

"The only people who commit suicide are people who are sick! They can't think straight enough to see what's in front of them, how many people would miss them!"

She let her head droop. "But only you would…"

"Are you saying that I'm not worth it? Is that it?" he said in a quieter voice. "Am I not good enough? That just because I'm the only one who's alive to miss you that it's okay to leave me alone like that?"

She turned her face to reveal that more tears were coming. He softened and let go of her.

"If I don't matter, then think of those who have already left us. What would Rem think? And what about your mother? Would it make her smile to know that you killed yourself?

Aurora's eyes opened and widened, her mother's happy smile flashing in her mind once again.

"All I know is that it would be a waste of a life, that the person I cared about most would be gone, and that I would miss her very much." Silent tears were falling down his cheeks.

Aurora was now on her knees, facing him. She had tried not to let what Vash said change her in any way, but his heartfelt words had done her in. She wailed like she had when she was a small child. It seemed like all the tears she had been holding inside for the last ten years were coming forth.

Vash knelt down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. She fell apart even more. He cooed her in order to calm her and forgave her each time she apologized for her actions. Soon, she was completely silent. He looked at her and found that, after the exhaustion of crying, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. A peaceful look was on her face. It comforted him to know she was at last in a state of tranquility, and he gave a small smile. He picked her up and headed back to the ship.

She leaned against his chest as he walked. The cool midnight breeze cradled her hair, and her peaceful breathing put him at ease. He didn't know if he would ever have the courage to tell her, she was like his memento. She was a keepsake from the SEEDs ship; something to remind him that there are good people, understanding people, who don't need to see others' outward appearance in order to treat them with kindness.

He set her down inside the ship and wrapped his arms around her once more, putting his cheek on top of her head. He shut his eyes and was about to go to sleep when Aurora's voice awoke him.

"Oh, Vash…" she sighed.

She turned on her side and rested her head on his chest. Her right hand fell to the inside of his left thigh. Vash blushed and, calmly as he could, moved her hand to his ribs instead. Then he thought better of it and held her hand.

With the warmth he felt from his friend, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

He awoke early the next morning to footsteps coming from down the hall. He stirred and looked up to see his brother emerge from the shadows.

"Knives?"

His brother grinned at him with dark eyes.

"All done."


	8. Rebirth of an Old Way to Die

-pops out of the ground- Yes, I am the baxxorz!! I neglected this fic because I was concentrating on my Shaman King fic _A Gift of Love_, which became kinda popular. I'll try to be more faithful. I recently had an urge to watch Trigun again, so that's why I'm here. I'm glad that I have the boxed set xD

I had also lost my notebook, and since it used a chunk of the original script, I was reluctant to sit in front of my TV and take it down again. Ah well. It's holiday vacation. I owe you guys. Thanks to those who remembered the story

This story should be back in full swing once _A Gift of Love _is over. Unless I get a mental block, in which case you get a filler-type chapter. –shrugs-

**Notes: I took some creative liberties with the script by meshing some lines from the Japanese and American versions when I thought I could make the lines just a bit better. I do credit Trigun for being one of very few dubs that I can actually put on par with the Japanese version. **

**You may notice a change in my writing style since the last chapter, since it was almost two years ago. -is shot- But I hope it is to your liking. I got my butt kicked by GAFF, so I had to change my evil ways. -rolls eyes-**

**Disclaimer: Trigun and I are not related, either by economy or blood, although that would be mega freaky.**

**Chapter rating: PG-13**

* * *

**Love is Blind – Chapter 8**

* * *

Vash woke Aurora up as Knives exited the ship. Her eyes flew open in surprise as he picked her up and set her down outside. He took her hand and quickly followed Knives, who was heading for the edge of a nearby cliff. When Vash saw this, he, remembering the incident eleven years ago, stopped and turned to her.

"Stay here, don't move!" he commanded. "I'll be right back."

"Alright…" She nodded slowly.

Vash turned to leave.

"Be careful…" she called.

He raced up the cliff to Knives, who had two objects, one in each hand.

"Knives! What are--"

There was a blinding flash with a blast that blew against him, and he had to cover his eyes. He looked to Knives and saw him with a long silver gun in his right hand. Another one, which was black, was held in his left.

"Only a thirteen percent output… oh well, I guess that's as good as it's going to get for now."

"Knives… what ARE those?" Vash asked, bewildered.

His brother turned to him. "These are our new brethren. We will use them to eradicate the humans of this planet." He pointed to handle of the silver gun at Vash. "This one's yours."

Vash stared at the gun. "I…I can't do that!" he said, pushing it away.

Knives's smile faded. "YES YOU WILL."

"No, never!"

"Then why did you follow me?" Knives sneered. When Vash said nothing, he gave an evil grin. "Because you're hopeless on your own, right?" Again, Vash gave no reply. Knives started to turn. "Fine, watch me then."

"No! Don't!"

Vash lunged at his brother in an effort to try to get the destructive pieces of metal. They both fell to the ground and began rolling down the hill that had lead up to the cliff—in Aurora's direction. As they rolled, Knives lost both of the guns. They separated, a gun across from each of them. Vash quickly scrambled to the gun in front of him, but Knives reached his first. He stood as he pointed it at his brother.

"Are you still worried about that nonsense after all these years? The self-contradicting fantasy world that woman who lived and died by that same contradiction gave to you?" He sneered.

Vash pointed his own gun at him. "I won't let you kill any more!!"

His brother looked at him venomously.

"Vash!"

Vash's eyes widened as he saw Aurora run towards them, oblivious of the danger.

"AURORA DON'T!! GET BACK!!" he yelled.

But it was too late. Knives tripped her, throwing her down on the ground. She was on her hands and knees, facing Vash, with the black gun pointed at her head. Of course, she couldn't see it.

"I think you got the wrong idea somewhere, dear brother."

Aurora twisted her face in confusion. "Vash? What's going on?"

All Vash could do was stare as Knives smirked once more. He dragged the girl in front of him by her hair.

"You're supposed to aim right here."

He stuck the gun in Aurora's ear. She still looked confused. He chuckled evilly and cocked the gun. When she heard the distinctive 'click', her eyes flew wide open. As she heard another click, her pupils shrank until they were barely-visible dots. A few silent tears fell from them.

"Let's play a little Russian Roulette, shall we?" Knives said mischievously. "You have until we find out which cylinder the bullet is in to cooperate with me. Maybe I'll let the little wretch live for a few more days if you agree…What do you say?"

Vash didn't know what to do. Would he sacrifice the lives of all the humans on the planet in order to save his friend, or was it better to let her die to save the masses?

"Don't toy with her like that!" he shouted. "She's alive! A living being! The rest of the people on this planet are too! Alive! They'll all alive!" A certain sadness returned to his eyes. "I promised Rem…that we would make this land--,"

"And we will!" Knives interjected. "You and I will make this place into our very own Eden. We just need to clean this planet up a little bit, clear out the clutter."

He chuckled as he pushed the barrel of the gun against Aurora's head, nudging it to the side. It fell back into place when he placed the gun back in her ear. Her eyes were still empty and soulless, as if she was frozen by the thought of dying in such a horrible and helpless way. Her eyes wouldn't move at all. It was almost as if they were painted on.

_This is wrong…_

He saw Rem's smiling face in his mind.

_It's wrong…_

He looked at his brother's maniacal smile.

_IT'S WRONG!!_

A loud bang echoed throughout the canyon, and both Knives and Aurora were on the ground. Knives was grabbing his right leg as he knelt on the ground, shaking.

"My…My leg…hurts…There's so much pain…so much pain in my leg…" he said, gasping the words out. "Why does it hurt so much…?" He looked up at Vash, who could only stare at his brother, gun still in hand. "Did you just shoot me? Did you really just shoot me?"

Vash began quivering as well.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!! DID YOU REALLY SHOOT ME??"

Vash let out a cry and ran past him, taking both guns and Aurora with him.

"Vash…!!" Knives cried out to him before falling onto his stomach.

Vash didn't stop running until he could hardly see where he was going. He stopped and looked about his surroundings. There was a cave nearby, and he quickly ran inside to hide from the madness his brother had created for the three of them. He propped Aurora up against the wall, stared at her for a few moments, then thought better of it and laid her on the ground, her back still against the wall.

Her eyes hadn't changed. They were still horrible-looking and glazed over.

"Aurora?" he whispered gently patting her cheek.

Like before, her head moved when he touched it, but then just fell back into place. Like a doll.

"Don't…Don't shoot her…Please don't shoot Ruta…" she suddenly whispered, another tear falling down her cheek. "Please don't shoot Ruta…We haven't taken the groceries home yet…Her mom will be sad if she doesn't come home…"

He just stared at her. What was she talking about? Her old life back on Earth? He looked down at the gun in his hand, then clenched his fist around it. An instrument like this must have caused her pain when she was young.

"Stupid things…" he grumbled, and threw it across the cave.

It hit the wall and went off. A bullet flew past him, hitting the wall near Aurora, only inches away from her head. She flinched, then shrank into a fetal position on the floor. Vash carefully reached over to touch her hair, then took the tattered cape he was wearing and draped it over her.

She stirred and grabbed his hand, feeling it out before holding it close to her.

"Vash…" she sighed, seemingly calmed by his presence. Then she tensed. "Where's Knives?"

"He's not here," he reassured her. "And he never will be again. We're on our own now. You're safe."

She nodded slowly, as if she was reluctant to accept his words. But he breathed a sigh of relief when she closed her eyes; a sign that she was functioning again.

"I'm just glad…that we're away from those guns. I can't stand being near them. They…they think they're so great because they can fly fast and kill people in an instant. We don't need them on this new planet." Her grip on his hand became that of a vice. "I'll kill anyone who brings a gun into this world. Even if it **is** Knives. I won't let innocent people die here, too."

"Why do you hate guns so much?" Vash asked her. It was a stupid question. He knew the answer. He had just seen the answer. He had made himself see the answer. He had _created_ the answer. He had shot his own brother. It was a question that he only hoped would remain rhetorical.

"Ruta…," she whispered. "Ruta never asked to die. She was so young. She probably had never seen even a picture of a gun before then. Neither had I. But that didn't matter. It never matters. Things you can't see are the things that will kill you."

There was a long pause.

"Who's Ruta?"

"Who WAS Ruta," Aurora snapped in a dark tone.

* * *

"_C'mon, Aurora! You're always lagging behind!"_

"_Sorry!"_

_Ruta, a small girl about seven with short red hair, tapped her foot on the sidewalk as she waited for her friend to catch up._

"_Jeez, you're always so slow."_

"_You run too fast!"_

_Ruta stuck her tongue out at her. "Not my problem." She grinned and poked Aurora's forehead. "Hehe. Let's go. We have to get there before the store closes!" She sprinted off down the sidewalk._

"_OH!!" Aurora whined. "You're so mean!"_

_Once they got there, they grabbed a basket and began filling it with all the essentials: eggs, butter, bread, milk, cookies, popcorn…_

"_We don't need popcorn!" Ruta cried placing it back on the shelf._

"_But I LIKE popcorn!" Aurora yelled back jumping up and down._

_Ruta sighed and put it in the basket again. "Fine, but YOUR mom is paying for it."_

"_Yay!"_

_Ruta took the basket and they began making their way up to the counter when there was a scream. The two girls looked up to see a masked man and a gun._

"_Listen up, all of you!" the man yelled. "All of you just shut up and do as I say! On the ground! One peep, and it's a cap in the mouth!"_

_The women and children around them screamed and hit the floor. Ruta did as well, but rather reluctantly. She looked up. Aurora was still standing, wide-eyed._

"_Wh-What's going on?"_

_The man pointed the gun at her. "This is what you'd call a stick-up, little girl. Now, if you want to be able to go home to your mommy, I suggest you mimic your friend and get on the ground."_

"_Stick-up?" She looked around. "I don't see any sticks."_

"_Don't be a wise-ass!!" He grabbed her and jammed the gun in her ear and cocked it. Aurora's eyes went wide. "Heh heh. This'll teach ya…"_

_Suddenly, an egg hit his face. He dropped his hostage and cleared the raw yolk from his eyes. His vision cleared, he saw Ruta with the carton of eggs, reloaded and ready to fire._

"_Don't prey on a little girl, you pig!" she yelled._

"_You mean like this?"_

_There was a blast, and Ruta hit the floor, not speaking, not moving, and not seeing, though her eyes were open._

"_RUTA!!" her friend cried as she ran over to her. She shook her, but she didn't move. She moved to touch the wound in her bang-covered head, but then just stared._

"_Ruta!!" she cried again._

_Aurora just let the events happen around her. Policemen ran in, shooting and killing the gunman. There were sirens and screaming and crying people. Ruta was carried away on a stretcher covered in cloth. Aurora just sat on the ground staring at the pool of blood before her._

_It was her fault. Her friend died saving her. Ruta was gone. It was all her fault._

* * *

"If I ever see another gun again, I'll use it to kill the person holding it. That's a promise."

Vash nodded, knowing that she couldn't see him. He looked at the two guns on the floor of the cave. _I guess I'll be the first to die, then._


End file.
